An intervention program to attract workers to the cultural sector and improve their working conditions proposes to launch a vast reform project spread over five years and to inject new public funds totaling approximately $235 million. Financial needs are estimated at $48 million for the first year alone (2023-2024) of application of the desired actions.
THE Action plan for human resources in culture was unveiled by Competence Culture, a sectoral labor committee, in Montreal, Monday noon, the day before the tabling of the provincial budget. The consultation and reflection project mobilized nearly 1,500 professionals from different spheres of activity in the cultural sector over the past year.
“We are trying to solve several fundamental problems,” explains Pascale Landry, General Manager of Competence Culture. “You have to think big. The action plan aims to implement major long-term structural changes. »
The document distributed organizes the desired transformations around three major themes.
Financial security and social protection for workers. This involves setting up a social safety net to guarantee full coverage for all employment statuses in the sector while adapting tax measures to their particularities.
The organizational environment and career development in culture. The central idea is to improve the working conditions and remuneration of artists or craftsmen, in particular to tackle the problem of the labor shortage.
A more inclusive approach in the sector. This question is about equity, inclusion and diversity to break down the “systemic barriers” that hinder indigenous, diverse and immigrant people wishing to integrate into cultural networks.
Social safety net
The summary document prioritizes 33 actions to be implemented by evaluating their specific financial needs. By far the most costly measure is asking for $175 million by 2028 from the various levels of government to “adapt to new work realities”. The additional funds would make it possible to financially support cultural organizations, which could then offer better conditions to their employees. Another major part of the enhancement proposal concerns continuing education, the measures of which would require nearly $52 million.
“The financial commitments that are requested may seem large, but if we compare them to other sectors of activity, it is not that much,” says the director. Our work consisted in evaluating the needs, in a serious way, by working with a specialized firm. […] We want stocks, but we don’t expect everything to change all at once. On the social safety net, we do not expect the situation to change in two months. But these issues need to be put on the table and addressed. »
The study updates the data on the importance of the cultural sector in the economy. Before the pandemic, its gross domestic product (GDP) totaled more than 15 billion, and exceeded in importance the GDP of the mining, accommodation and catering sectors, in addition to having nearly 160,000 jobs, concentrated in 60 % in the Montreal area.
Culture, like the others, is subject to the constraints linked to the health crisis, inflation, the digital shift and the shortage of labour, in this case with particular challenges. One out of two workers holds an atypical position (temporary, part-time, independent, etc.). Remuneration there remains chronically lower than in the rest of the economy.
Difficult recruitments
The measures adopted during the pandemic have made it possible to correct certain shortcomings. Despite everything, 23,300 people (including almost 18,000 women) left the cultural sector from 2019 to 2021. The trend reversed in 2022, and the active population there now exceeds the pre-pandemic level by 5,800 people. Job insecurity has also fallen there with the addition of 12,000 full-time jobs and the loss of 6,000 part-time positions.
“The sector still remains at the back of the pack when it comes to job stability and compensation,” summarizes the action plan. The study adds that “the question of the social safety net offered to the cultural workforce – whose shortcomings have been clearly brought to light during the pandemic – is fundamental”.
Mme Landry confirms it: artists or artisans have returned to theaters or festivals. She adds that it is now a question of taking better care of it.
“When you work in culture, when you talk to cultural organizations, you quickly understand the difficulty of recruiting staff there. It is a fact. There were, before the pandemic, and there still are, difficulties in recruiting for positions in management, communication, management, technical production, etc. It is also a skills issue: we have lost experienced people, and those who arrive in their positions need training. »
Competence Culture also has the mission of ensuring the implementation of the action plan. Pressure groups, including sectoral professional associations and regional cultural councils, will support him in the steps with political authorities that are now beginning. Observers from the Ministry of Culture also followed the consultation work.
“We are unveiling the fruit of phenomenal, colossal work to develop a plan of this magnitude in one year, concludes Pascale Landry. Now it has to continue. Another project is beginning. »